Emerald Dream
by Senigata
Summary: [Sequel to Journey of a Barmaid] Being part of Avalanche had always been one of the greatest things in Jessie's life, something that made her able to fight the injustice of Shinra, but it had also given her the chance to meet the person that she would eventually come to call her best friend. One day, Tifa arrived with a stranger called Cloud Strife.
1. Chapter 1

**And we're back. I've been itching to post this one for a while now, and I hope you're all gonna enjoy it.**

* * *

**Chapter 1**

Cloud Strife, she reflected, was a god. Not one of those all powerful, could-destroy-you-with-a-glance gods, even if he was plenty strong. No, he was one of those hot ones, the ones you wouldn't mind making a little demigod with, like in legends of old. All thunder and lightning and golden bed sheets.

That, Jessie found, was a pretty good description of the ex-SOLDIER. Especially after he had swept in to save her life earlier tonight.

It could be that she had a tiny crush on him. Just a little attraction.

Tifa had introduced him to her and the others just the other day and the first thing she had wondered was: where the hell did her best friend manage to hide this hottie?

The next was: what was their relationship?

Her first instinct was to grill Tifa for all the information she wanted, but the other woman was quick to say that Cloud and her were childhood friends.

But Jessie could tell that wasn't entirely the truth. The way that Tifa looked at him, the way they talked and acted around each other, it all spoke a different language. Even Johnny seemed to have picked up on it over the days that Cloud had been around 7th Heaven and had made himself scarce, and the guy never missed a chance to try and fail at making goo goo eyes at Tifa!

Then there was the flower. One didn't just casually give away one of the rare flowers in Midgar to a mere childhood friend.

Something about it was weird.

With a sigh, she rubbed her eyes and leaned back in her chair, giving her eyes a little rest from the computer screen. She was currently upgrading everyone's IDs, since after the explosion today, Shinra was sure to be putting all their systems on high alert. They wouldn't get them near the reactors no matter how much she upgraded them after yesterday, but they should last for the initial surface scan inside the train when she was done with them. The plan was to jump off the train and head towards the reactor from inside the plate anyway, but no need to get Shinra on their tail any sooner than need be.

Stretching herself a little she turned around and eyed the table in the middle of their little hideout. Maybe a power nap would do her some good?

Jessie rose from her seat and laid down on the table, pushing some of the papers that were lying on it to the side, then used one of her arms as a pillow.

Closing her eyes, she drifted off.

_Jessie was in the shower, washing the stress of the day away, when she heard the door open. A scowl formed on her face and she was ready to give the guys an earful for walking in on her again, but the words were silenced by the sight before her._

_Cloud Strife in all his natural glory. And, oh my, he was impressive._

"_Hope you don't mind," he said with that confident, almost arrogant tone of his. Jessie, on her end, could only shake her head._

_Oh, she definitely did not mind. At all._

_As if he owned the place he walked up to her and joined her in the shower._

"_I've been noticing you looking at me," he told her, and Jessie took a little step back away from him, her back hitting the wall._

"_D-did you now?" she asked and swallowed hard, the sight of the water hitting his naked body doing things to her that made her want to do things with him._

"_Mhm." He placed a hand on the wall beside her head and leaned in closer, and Jessie could feel her body heat up even more. With a smirk, he closed the gap and crashed his lips against her own._

_Almost instantly her arms went around his neck._

Don't mind if I do_, she thought and pressed her naked body against him, her breasts rubbing against his chest, and she moaned into the kiss as she felt him grab her ass tightly._

_He lifted her up with his amazing strength, and she locked her legs behind his back. No foreplay needed._

_Jessie pressed her eyes shut as he shoved himself inside her. Her last hook up had been some time ago, so the feeling of his dick inside her, filling her up so good, was especially intense._

_Wasting no time, Cloud immediately started to thrust himself in and out of her, pushing her against the wall as he fucked her._

_Jessie tore her lips away. "Mhm, yeah. Fuck me," she moaned._

_His thrusts became harder, and she had to fight with herself not to grow louder and wake up the entire place. She was pretty sure none of the others would appreciate her screwing the new guy._

_Especially not Tifa._

Tifa! _Oh fuck, what was she doing!?_

_She opened her eyes, intent on stopping what Cloud and her were doing right now. But instead of looking into a pair of mako tinted SOLDIER eyes, she found herself gazing into a familiar pair of carmine eyes, and instead of Cloud it was now Tifa holding her against the wall, thrusting three fingers into her wet pussy while her thumb was playing with her clit in delicious ways._

_Her friend dipped her head forward, planting her lips around one of her nipples and started sucking on it. Jessie tangled one of her hands into Tifa's long hair, trying to pull her closer, and she felt the other woman smile as she flicked her tongue over the hardened nub._

"_Oh, Tifa..." she breathed out as her friend raised her head to capture her lips. Jessie closed her eyes again and let herself sink into the kiss while the other woman pleasured her._

_A whine escaped her when Tifa eventually pulled back, and she buried her face into the crook of the barmaid's neck._

"_Cloud?" she heard Tifa chuckle next to her ear. "We both know who you really want."_

_Jessie pulled her head back to look at the other woman with wide eyes._

"_Wake up!"_

Jessie awoke with a start, heart beating up to her neck, and she nearly fell from the table as she sat up. She licked her dry lips, rising to her feet and pacing up and down, trying to calm herself down and dispel that vision from her mind.

It was just a dream.

But it was also very real. She sat down in front of the computer, holding her head in her hands.

_Dammit, Jessie. We've been over this a million times_, she berated herself. _You agreed to be friends. She's your best friend!_

She is!

So why couldn't she let go?

When Barret had introduced her to Tifa, she had been intrigued. A girl that was younger than her, but seemed to carry the weight of decades of experience on her shoulders, who owned a bar and clearly had a grudge against Shinra. But instead of being cynical and bitter, she was supportive and kind.

And she was simply...striking. Beautiful dark hair, the most striking of red eyes, that could stare deep into your soul, shapely legs that never seemed to end, and a body frankly made for bedrooms.

She had been head over heels.

Part of her still was. Every time their eyes locked she felt that tightness in her chest that made her want to reach out and kiss her again.

She was like a drug, and Jessie had been hooked right after her first taste and was now craving more.

But she knew that Tifa didn't feel the same, and she accepted that, was happy to call Tifa her best friend, someone that she could confide in, in ways that she couldn't any of the others. Yet no matter how many dates or hookups she's had, there was always a part inside her heart for Tifa, and Tifa only.

So it made her current predicament of being attracted to Tifa's childhood friend all the more awkward now.

It was a very nice dream though, the horny part of her mind said, and Jessie shook her head, slapping her cheeks. She needed something to focus on!

Jessie grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. She flipped through the channels and saw that they were all still showing an emergency broadcast about the explosion of Reactor 1. After a while she decided on one and listened to the news anchor recite completely made up facts about Avalanche. She drowned him out, instead focusing on the number on the lower right corner of the screen.

The official death toll.

Despite the heat inside the basement, Jessie felt herself grow cold as she read the number over and over. So many people died because of her bomb. The majority weren't even Shinra, because the explosion was way bigger than she had calculated. Was there an error in the data they had gathered from the old Avalanche or did she make a mistake somewhere?

Innocent people died tonight, and it was her fault. Barret had given them a speech earlier, how nothing worth fighting for came without sacrifices, but it still didn't remove the bitter taste of it all.

But she could make sure they didn't make the same mistake again. Using the rolls under the chair, she rolled towards the workbench where the bomb for the next mission was lying. Running some numbers in her head she grabbed one of her tools and went to work. She couldn't bring back the people that died tonight, but she could make sure this one destroyed only the reactor.

As Jessie started to make adjustments on the bomb, she missed the fact that there was still one more ID that she hadn't upgraded completely: Cloud's.

* * *

The next morning was about as awkward as expected given her dream, and she couldn't look Tifa in the eyes as she served them breakfast.

Cloud was thankfully not awake yet, so she didn't have to deal with that additional awkwardness and instead focused on her scrambled eggs and coffee.

She was just listening to Biggs rambling on about something or other to Wedge, when her friend sat down opposite of her.

"You alright?" Tifa asked, tilting her head to the side as she looked at her.

"Y-yeah," Jessie managed to say, eyes flickering towards the other woman. She was instantly bombarded with visions of the dream, Tifa in all her naked glory for her to see and admire, and Jessie had to fight with herself not to get hot and bothered. Shaking her head, the vision dissipated and only her friend remained, looking at her with concern, and Jessie gave her a weak smile. "Just… didn't get much sleep is all."

It wasn't a lie, per se. While it was what occupied her mind, she also did not get a lot of sleep as she adjusted the bomb so that the explosion should be more focused on the reactor itself, and keep civilian casualties to a minimum.

Or at least she hoped.

"Maybe you should sit this one out, then?" Tifa offered.

"Nah, I'm fine," Jessie assured her. She had pulled all nighters in the past and still performed reasonably well when it mattered. "I'll just lie down when I get back."

"Mhm," Tifa hummed and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "I'll be joining you all on the mission today."

That made Jessie look at her friend in surprise. She rarely went on missions with them, since someone had to run things on this end. For her to actually join them there had to be a good reason.

"Want to spend more time with Cloud?" Jessie asked lightly, the corner of her lip turning into a small smirk.

"No, that's not it." Tifa shook her head, then averted her eyes and brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. "At least not fully. There's just something I need to make sure..."

Now it was Jessie that tilted her head, and she wanted to inquire further when she felt Biggs nudge her in the shoulder.

"Boss wants us to get ready," he told her and Jessie huffed in slight annoyance, then turned her attention back to her door, shooting Tifa a quick little smile.

Fine, she'll ask her after the mission.

After finishing her meal she slapped Biggs lightly on the shoulder, to tell him she was ready, and rose to her feet with the others. As they were making their way out of the door, Jessie halted in her tracks as she heard footsteps and two voices coming from upstairs.

"You snore like a damn Behemoth, anyone ever tell you that?" she heard Cloud say, followed by a grumble from Barret.

"You sure you quit SOLDIER and they just didn't toss yer ass out on the street?" Barret shot back.

"Well, those two are starting to get along," she said and walked away from the door and back up to Tifa, who was shaking her head.

"The worst part is that you're probably right." They both chuckled at that. From her own experience she knew that giving each other shit was a good way to bond.

Jessie then remembered something and her hand went to her pocket, pulling out an ID and holding it out to Tifa. "This one's for Cloud, could you give it to him for me?"

"Sure," Tifa said and took the ID from her. Frankly, Jessie didn't want to see Cloud right now, because she was sure she would make a fool out of herself.

Giving Tifa a little wave she headed out of the door, just in time for Barret and Cloud to arrive.

"Morning Cloud," she heard Tifa greet him, a bit more cheerful now. "Did you sleep well?"

"Mhm. Next to you, who wouldn't?"

"I don't know what you mean," Tifa said and she could hear the teasing in her voice at the pretty blatant flirting from Cloud.

Jessie glanced over her shoulder, glaring in his direction, before she realized what she was doing and all but stormed off to catch up with Biggs and Wedge, her face beet red.

"You alright?" Biggs asked her, eyebrows raised.

"I'm fine," she said and brushed past him, bumping into his shoulder as she did so.

"Testy," Biggs muttered, earning himself a sound of disapproval from Wedge as they all headed to the train station.

After they arrived, Jessie sat down on the steps and looked down to the ground.

"Seriously, you alright?" Biggs asked again, sitting down next to her. She sighed. He could be a huge ass, but deep down he was a nice guy and he didn't deserve her bad mood.

"Just a lot of things on my mind." The innocent people that died because of them, her attraction towards Cloud, her deeper feelings for Tifa. She had never been good with situations where she wasn't in control, and this felt way out of her control.

"You wanna talk about it?" he put an arm around her shoulders, giving her a comforting squeeze.

"Honestly?" She shook her head. "No. But thanks for offering."

"Always," he said and let go of her. They waited for a while, and Biggs and Wedge started to joke around a little to get rid of the tension, until they could see Barret, Cloud and Tifa finally arriving.

"Showtime," Jessie said as they rose to their feet and entered the train. They had just sat down when Barret burst into the car and she could already see he was in a bad mood.

"Yo!" he called out to them. "Looks like this ain't a private car, so split up!"

He didn't even finish his sentence and they had already gotten to their feet and headed into the next car.

"I wonder what put him into a bad mood," Jessie said as the sliding door closed and she leaned against the wall nearby.

"I can think of something blond and spiky," Biggs said with a grin and walked to the other end of the car with Wedge. Jessie snorted and shook her head with a small grin.

Jessie turned and looked through the window in the door, as Barret pulled his gun on some poor suit cowering in fear. She honestly doubted that he would truly have shot the guy, but regardless Tifa ran up to him and de-escalated the situation while Cloud stood in the back, a mixture of annoyance and amusement on his face.

They talked amongst themselves before the train shook, as the cars were connected and the train slowly started to leave the station.

"Good morning, and welcome to Midgar Lines. Arrival at Sector 4 Station will be at 11:45. Have a pleasant day." She heard the mechanized voice of the train's computer system say through the speakers on the ceiling.

Her eyes went to her watch. That meant they only had a couple of minutes until they needed to get off this train. They'd be cutting it close, she knew.

_Maybe we should've waited until the next attack... But Barret had insisted to strike while the iron was hot, and he was the leader. _

Her eyes turned back to the window, and she saw Tifa stand in front of the monitor embedded into the wall. Her mind went back to that night they had their date. Showing people the train station was a bit of an ice breaker to her, that's why she had shown it to her, and Cloud the previous night.

She watched as Tifa waved Cloud over, and say something to him as he had joined her, turning around and pointing at the monitor. Wait a minute, was she—

Jessie pressed herself against the door, trying to hear what they were saying, but the sound of the train drowned out any words. After a moment Tifa turned around and Jessie could see that she was giggling.

Her heart started to beat like a drum, as she saw Cloud step awfully close to her friend.

She _was_ flirting with him!

And using her own tactic to boot.

Jessie didn't know who she should be jealous of right now, Tifa for blatantly flirting with the guy she was crushing on, or Cloud for being the target of Tifa's flirt.

She released a shuddering sigh, closing her eyes and resting her forehead against the cool glass of the window, trying to tame that green eyed monster roaring inside her right now.

She was such a fucking mess…

All of a sudden, the alarms started. That was weird, they weren't near the Sector 4 checkpoint.

"Type A security alert," the voice from the speakers said. "Unidentified passengers confirmed. A search of all cars will be conducted, please remain calm."

_What!?_

This shouldn't be possible. She had upgraded everyone's IDs personally, even with the train system on high alert, it shouldn't have caught them. She went through her memory, checked off all IDs on her mental list, and it was then that she realized her error.

She didn't finish Cloud's.

"Shit!" she hissed, and slammed her fist against the button that would open the door and ran through it.

"We're in trouble!" she all but shouted towards the three of them, holding out her hands when Tifa wanted to further inquire. "I'll explain later, just get into the next car!"

She then ran back through the door.

"_Unidentified passengers located in Car #1, preparing for lock down,"_ the train's system said.

Jessie turned around, as Cloud, Barret and Tifa just made it in time before the door was locked.

"_Car #1 locked down. Upgrading to Level 2 warning."_

Biggs and Wedge were already standing in the doorway to the next car, and Biggs motioned for them to hurry up.

"Just run!" Jessie shouted at the other three, before following her own advice, and ran for the door. Biggs and Wedge ran up ahead, with the former pulling out his handgun, while Jessie remained to make sure the others wouldn't get left behind.

After the door locked behind them the warning lights stopped, returning the car into its usual lighting, and for just a second Jessie thought they might have made it.

"We clear!?" Barret demanded, only for the train system to speak up again.

"_Upgrading to Level 3 warning."_

Dammit!

"Another check. If we're caught we're done for," she said. "We've got to get to the end of the train, that's our only chance to get past it!"

After saying this, she ran up ahead. Some older fellow seemed to have caught on, that they were the ones responsible and made himself to stand in their way.

_No you don't_, Jessie thought and rammed her knee into his stomach, before punching his lights out, causing him to tumble to the side. A part of her, the one that was still angry about the sight from not even a minute earlier, enjoyed that, to vent some of those feelings.

Giving the man one last glance, she ran into the next car. She didn't stop this time, confident that the others would follow. When she arrived in the last car she had to pause for a second to take in the sight of a group of security guards lying on the ground. Dead.

She looked at Biggs at the far side of the car, giving her a nod, and she ran towards him, clapping Wedge on the shoulder as she passed him, and she started to fiddle around with the train door to force it to open up.

"All cars on lock down, upgrading to maximum security warning." The calm computer voice said as the others joined. Shit. That meant they were going to send out mechanized security to check the entire area.

"We made it!" Barret shouted as he ran towards Biggs and her, waving towards Cloud and Tifa to follow him. "This way!"

Jessie was just done and with a press of a button the door opened. She had to shield her eyes from the wind blowing into her face, and she stepped backwards until she stood besides Biggs.

"We're gonna dive outta here!" Barret told the others.

"...Scary...huh," Tifa said, turning towards Cloud, a tinge of nervousness in her voice as she tried to make a bit light of their situation.

"Too late to be sayin' that now," Cloud said with a raised brow. "Why did you come along, anyway?"

Jessie watched as Tifa's expression darkened a little, and her friend turned around, looking down to the metal floor of the train car. "Because..."

"Hey, you two! There ain't no time for that!" Barret interrupted her and moved out of the way, but Jessie already knew what she was going to say.

_Because of you_, she thought, just a little bitterly.

"Right," she heard Tifa mutter, then walk towards the door. She took a few calming breaths, before turning back towards Cloud.

"I've made up my mind," she said to him, her face full of determination, then jumped out.

Cloud turned to Barret. "Mind if I go first?" he asked with a small smirk, like he was discussing who would start the pool match.

Barret gave him a smirk of his own. "A leader always stays to the end. Don't worry about me, just go!

"And don't go gettin' your spiky ass hurt, this is just the beginnin' of the mission!" he added as Cloud made for the door.

Cloud just shrugged lightly and jumped.

Next, it was Barret's turn. Calmly he walked over to the door and glanced over his shoulder at them.

"Later! You take care of the rest!" he told them, then jumped off.

* * *

**Ever since writing Journey of a Barmaid and putting some focus on Jessie I had the desire to write someting from her perspective. Her doubts and fears, her feelings towards Tifa and crush on Cloud.**

**Ah it must be pretty confusing being Jessie right now!**

**Anyway. Hope you enjoyed it. Read and Review! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

All three of them stared at the open train door that Barret had just out of, telling them to take care of the rest.

"No pressure there," she heard Biggs mutter next to her. Jessie bit her lip in thought, looking around wildly until her eyes came to rest on the dead Shinra security.

"Got an idea," she told him and walked towards one of the dead men, kneeling down and removing helmet. "Wedge, help me with this guy here."

"What's this gonna be?" Biggs asked from behind her.

"We'll take their uniforms, throw the bodies out and disguise ourselves," she explained to him. "They'll be rerouting this train to a depot, from there we'll get off the train and head straight under the plate near Reactor 5 to rendezvous with the others. Now come on, we don't have much time!"

"Gotcha!" Biggs said and went to undress one of the other men. After they had managed to undress the three of them, Biggs and Wedge went to throw them out of the train, while Jessie put on the uniform. It was a bit large on her, but it would do. Her hand went into the uniform's jacket and she found the dead man's ID. Hopefully they would only do a surface check with them, because the jig would be up if they checked any of their faces.

After Biggs and Wedge put on their respective uniforms, Jessie threw their old IDs out, then closed the doors.

"So, uh, what's next?" Wedge asked.

"We're the only survivors of a shootout with terrorists, of course," Jessie said and sat down on one of the seats. The train shook as the tracks shifted and it was rerouted into the train depot between Sector 4 and 5.

"Alright, guys," Biggs said. "Time to put our acting chops to the test."

Jessie put her head in her hands, trying to look as beaten as a kicked Moogle as the train slowly drove into the depot. Outside, a group of Shinra troopers were already lined up to storm the entire train, guns at the ready, and she heard Biggs hiss at the Mighty Grunt power armours that stood among them.

"Stay frosty," Jessie told them as the squad leader signalled something to his soldiers and they spread out in groups of two towards each car, each team accompanied by a drone. She side eyed Wedge, who was sitting down on the ground, equally holding his head, and Biggs who was rested against the wall, pretending to be exhausted.

The car door opened and the squad leader and another soldier, a woman, Jessie could tell, stormed in, guns ready for any surprises, and Jessie had to will herself not to draw her gun. _Stay frosty,_ she reminded herself.

"Ifrit's blazing balls! You guys alright?" the squad leader asked and lowered his gun, walking towards Biggs, who was the closest to them.

Biggs sighed with pretty convincing exhaustion. "Do we look alright?"

"Was it Avalanche?" he asked, as the female soldier passed by them, walking towards her.

"Yeah. We were about to go check the cars for the unidentified passengers when they came in guns blazing, took us all by surprise. They—" he stopped for a moment to swallow hard. "—they jumped out of the car, no idea where they are now, sir."

The other soldier knelt down in front of her, taking a look at her face. Her face was obscured by that weird visor, so Jessie couldn't tell what the other woman was thinking right now.

A whirring echoed through the air as the little drone flew through the car, and Jessie held in a breath as it stopped in front of Biggs.

"_Scan in progress."_

Unconsciously Jessie's hand went to her hidden gun.

"Everything alright?" the soldier in front of her asked, and Jessie felt her heartbeat go fast. The drone stopped scanning and went still for a second as it connected with Shinra's internal database. This was it, if they were exposed all hell would break loose.

"_Identity confirmed,"_ the drone's speaker unit said and a feeling of relief washed over Jessie.

She focused on the soldier in front of her and she released her breath through her nose, nodding. "I'm alright. Just beat is all..."

Jessie stiffened a little as the other woman placed a hand on her shoulder and gave it a little squeeze.

"What about him?" she nodded towards Wedge, who was currently being scanned, having gone all white.

"Shell shocked. First gun fight," Jessie told her.

After the drone had scanned Wedge it flew over to her and proceeded to scan her as well.

"_Identity confirmed,"_ it also said to her and flew off out of the car. Jessie had to hold herself back not to laugh at how shoddy Shinra was being.

"Let's get you guys outta here," the squad leader said and Jessie rose to her feet, walking over to Wedge to help him up.

"Lean on my shoulder," she whispered to him and he proceeded to do so as they followed the soldiers outside. As they got out of the train, she saw the other Shinra troopers escorting the passengers onto the platform.

"Does he need medical attention?" the squad leader asked Biggs and pointed at Wedge.

"He'll be fine. We'll take care of him, just promise us you'll get those bastards!" Biggs responded.

"Don't worry about that," he said and turned towards two of his men. "You two escort the civilians to the top of the plate, the rest with me!"

A chorus of "Sir!" followed his command, and he turned back towards them. "Just follow them and leave the rest to us."

Jessie, Biggs and Wedge did their best salute and watched as the squad leader and his troop climbed down onto the tracks and headed deep into the tunnel system, the Mighty Grunts taking the lead.

"Alright everyone," one of the two remaining troopers said to the people. "You're safe now, just follow us and stay close, wouldn't want any of you to get lost."

The three of them followed the group of people for a while, using the fact that Wedge was "shell shocked" to their advantage to fall behind, until Jessie spotted a maintenance door to the side.

"This way," she said and guided Wedge towards it, Biggs following close behind and making sure no one from the group was following them. As luck would have it, the door was unlocked and they stepped inside.

"That...was exciting," Wedge said after Biggs closed the door behind them.

"Tell me 'bout it," Biggs replied and took his helmet off, throwing it to the side, where it bounced off the wall before falling down into the depths of Midgar, eventually landing in the slums. "Let's not do that again anytime soon."

They all took off their disguises and discarded them, before Jessie pulled out her handheld computer and summoned up a map of Midgar's insides.

"This way," she said and led the way towards the area that would be right next to Reactor 5.

They made pretty good time, and arrived near the reactor in about 20 minutes. Thankfully they didn't run into any of the critters that roamed the insides of the plate.

"Up the ladder and into the vent there," Jessie told the others before she pocketed her computer. They climbed a ladder and headed into the huge ventilation shaft. Inside, Jessie pointed to her right. "According to the map the reactor is up ahead."

"I'll wait outside for the others and secure the exit then," Wedge said and headed back out.

"I'll scout up ahead," Biggs said, gripping his pistol, and headed towards the reactor, leaving Jessie alone.

She walked up to a corner and rested her back against the wall, closing her eyes as she released a deep breath. What a gigantic shit show this had turned into, just because she didn't do her job right.

Getting civilians caught up was the last thing she wanted to do, but exactly that was what caused her to screw up. But at least even the guy she had knocked out seemed to be alright back on the platform. Still, it was all her fault.

_Dammit, Jessie. Focus!_ She berated herself mentally, but that was hard to do with the uncertainty about the others. She knew they most likely would have to fight their way through Shinra's security systems to get here, but that didn't exactly make her worry less.

She had a bad feeling about this.

Jessie spent another fifteen minutes fretting over the entire situation, walking up and down the huge vent, when she finally heard someone climb the ladder. It was Wedge, followed by Barret, Cloud and Tifa, and she couldn't help but release a sigh of relief.

"You made it," she said to them and walked over, her eyes fluttering between Cloud and Tifa. They didn't look any worse for wear. Good.

Taking a deep breath she stood up straight and gathered her courage. "I'm sorry. The alarm was my fault. I screwed up with Cloud's ID and that set it off."

Barret looked like he wanted to chew her out for a sec, but then his large hand landed on her shoulder in a reassuring manner. "Don't worry, we still made it."

"Still. I won't make the same mistake twice," she promised and glanced over to Cloud, who didn't seem all too bothered. She felt a twinge of anger. He could at least show some reaction!

"The reactor is that way. Biggs went to scout ahead," she told them and took the lead. As they headed towards the reactor Tifa joined her to walk side by side while Barret and Cloud fell back a little to discuss the next steps.

"Don't beat yourself up, we all make mistakes," Tifa said with an encouraging smile that Jessie found hard to resist.

"Yeah, well, you know me." She shrugged. "Always beating myself up over mistakes I could've avoided."

"And we're all here, and everyone is alright." Tifa bumped her shoulder playfully and Jessie couldn't help it as the corner of her lips rose into a smile of her own. Leave it to Tifa to cheer her up.

"Thanks, Tifa," Jessie said in a whisper, and her friend's smile widened.

"Anytime!"

The group found Biggs near a huge vent and the tangy smell of mako invaded her nostrils. No doubt about it, this led to the reactor.

"Good work, guys," Barret told them. "We'll take it from here. Head back to the hideout."

"Gotcha! Good luck, guys. We're countin' on you," Biggs said and slapped Wedge's shoulder and started to head back the way they came from.

Jessie shot the three of them a look, and gave Tifa a little wink. "Have fun," she said and turned around to join the other two.

But as the distance between her and the other three grew, she felt that bad feeling return once more.

* * *

"Dammit, those things are nasty!" Biggs said with a grimace as his bullet pierced the skin of a Grashtrike. The little creature let out an ear piercing scream as it fell to its side and scrambled for a few seconds before dying. "And loud, too."

After being ordered to return to Sector 7, they had decided to venture through the plate to get to the slums, as the trains were obviously out, but that meant they were encountering all sorts of nasty critters.

"Why don't you send a strongly worded letter to Shinra?" Jessie snarked back as she worked on the mechanism of the maintenance shaft. "Clean this place up, love Biggs."

"Can I add a heart at the end of it?"

"All the hearts you want~" she replied in a sing song voice, as she typed code after code on the panel, one eye always kept on the display of her computer.

"Yay!" Biggs grinned and shot another Grashtrike dead, causing the rest to disperse and crawl back into whatever hole they came from.

"Finally," he muttered and holstered his pistol, kneeling down between Jessie and Wedge. "How's it going?"

Jessie shook her head. "I just can't find the right combination."

"Maybe Wedge and I could try to pry it open?"

She snorted and knocked on the solid steel hatch that kept it closed tight. "You're welcome to try."

"Can I?" Wedge asked and pointed at the panel.

Jessie sighed and moved out of the way. "Be my guest."

He reached out and typed five numbers on the code panel.

1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.

"Oh, come on, there's no way that's the correct—"

The maintenance hatch opened.

"Code? Huh..." She looked at Wedge, who just shrugged.

"Maintenance workers are just ordinary people that don't have time to remember complex codes," he explained.

Well now she felt dumb.

She peered into the shaft. It was leading diagonally down to the lowest levels of the plate, and from there they should be able to get into the slums.

"Well," Biggs said and lightly pushed her to the side, climbing into the shaft. "Last one's a wet Moogle."

Jessie shook her head, then followed after him, Wedge close behind her. Once they exited on the other side, she summoned up a digital map and led them to the nearest maintenance door, that would have them exit in Sector 4. As soon as they arrived Jessie went to work opening it up, this time with less problems.

"Holy crap, I never thought I'd miss the shitty smell down here," Biggs said as the door slid open and the heavy air of the slums blew into their faces while they walked onto a small platform.

"There's a ladder," Wedge said and pointed to the right.

As they climbed the ladder a loud explosion shook the city, and Jessie had to hold tight as the tremors were felt even down here.

"Woohoo!" Biggs shout and raised an arm. "They did it!"

Jessie couldn't bring herself to share his cheery mood, as her mind went back to yesterday night. Hopefully the modifications she did were enough to keep civilian casualties to a minimum.

But there wasn't time for that now. They needed to get back to Sector 7.

On the ground they looked around the area. No guards, or other Shinra personnel.

"Fastest route would be through Sector 5," Wedge said and they started to leave.

"Not an option, the place is crawling with Shinra," Biggs shot back.

"Why's that, anyway?" Wedge asked curiously.

"Beats me. Maybe some Shinra higher up got an illegitimate child down there and they are protective detail?" Biggs shrugged. "Let's go around and through Wall Market. I know a quick route."

"From your old smuggling days?" Jessie asked teasingly, and he shot her a grin.

"You know it, girl."

He took the lead, and led them to the Wall Market, navigating them through well hidden alleyways, and Jessie had to admit that it was pretty fast. The only way she knew would have taken them way more than the hour it took them now.

She looked around as they walked through the streets. She had only been to the Wall Market a couple of times, once or twice to meet with a hook up, but she once had the dubious honour of seeing Don Corneo himself walking in the distance, flanked by some of his muscle and his latest squeeze at his side.

"Wonder what the fat bastard must be doing now?" Jessie muttered, and Biggs raised a brow.

"Who? The Don?"

"Yeah." She nodded.

Biggs snorted and shook his head. "Heard he's lookin' to get married."

"Whoever would marry that sack of shit?" Jessie narrowed her eyes and turned to look at him.

"Lots of desperate women looking for a way out, and if the alternative is to be poor and on the streets, even someone like Corneo might not be too bad a deal."

She snorted, then looked around at the people, especially the women. Would any of them really be willing to jump into bed with him just to escape their lot in life?

Sighing, she forced herself to look away. They needed to get back.

As they walked, they didn't notice that someone had been keeping a close eye on them ever since they had arrived at Wall Market.

The figure following them pulled out a phone, typed something into it, then slipped into one of the alleys, out of sight.

* * *

**So how are you liking the story from Jessie's perspective so far?  
It's pretty fun to fill in the blanks I have to say. Of course I changed it a bit from how the OG game handled it, since Jessie and co were already disguised by the time Cloud arrived, but I find this to be a good change here.**

**Well next time, our motley crew returns to Sector 7. Wonder what will happen?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

As they returned, Sector 7 was abuzz with people standing on the streets. All around them the residents were talking amongst themselves. About the last Avalanche attack just over an hour ago.

"Pretty ballsy if you ask me, blowing up another reactor so soon," one person said.

"Stupid more like," another responded.

Jessie tried to ignore them. They were doing it for the greater good. Still, once they arrived at the doorstep of 7th Heaven she felt so incredibly tired. Biggs unlocked the door and they all stepped inside, only to be immediately greeted by tiny footsteps running excitedly towards them.

"Papa!" Marlene shouted, but halted in her tracks when she saw that Barret wasn't with them. Jessie smiled and walked towards her, kneeling down to be closer to eye level with her.

"Don't worry. He's on his way, we just had to split up," she reassured her and Marlene nodded in understanding. "Why don't you go upstairs and play and we'll keep watch until he's back?"

Marlene thought about that for a second, but then nodded again. "OK!"

"Good girl," Jessie said and watched as the little girl headed upstairs, only releasing a sigh when she was out of earshot.

"Anyone else want a drink?" Biggs asked, walking past her and behind the bar.

"No thanks, I'm starving though," Wedge said and walked into the kitchen.

"Just don't raid the entire place," Biggs chuckled, then looked at her as she sat down at the bar. "You want one?"

"Sure." She usually wasn't one to drink that early in the afternoon, but after today she could make an exception. "Just hit me up with something."

"Gotcha," Biggs said and turned to the bottles. Jessie spied the remote for the TV lying on the counter and grabbed it, turning it on with a press of a button.

As expected, the explosion was all over the news. She flipped through the channels until she found one that spoke of the total damage. The surrounding area had still taken damage from the shockwave, but it was kept to a minimum and the people living in the area were mostly uninjured this time around with most of the dead being Shinra personnel.

Relief washed over her and she let her head rest on the counter.

"Something the matter?" Biggs asked as he placed a glass in front of her. She simply pointed at the TV without looking up. "Less casualties? That's good, isn't it?"

She didn't say anything for a moment, just letting herself relax a little before she pushed herself back up. Taking the glass, she looked into it for a bit before saying, "I spent half the night adjusting the bomb so it wouldn't be as overkill as the last one."

"You succeeded," he said and sat down beside her, taking a sip from his own drink.

"Yeah. It's weird though. I followed the plans of the previous Avalanche to the letter. I...I think they didn't care how much damage they did," she finally admitted the thoughts that had been swirling in her mind since yesterday.

"Well, maybe. But they ain't around anymore. And we're not them."

"Sometimes I'm not so sure..." she shook her head. "Sorry. This entire thing today was my fault. Screwed up with Cloud's ID because of the bomb thing."

"It happens. We managed to get by, and I'm sure Tifa already gave you the 'everyone makes mistakes' routine, so I won't even bother."

Jessie chuckled and grinned a little. "She did."

After saying those words she took a sip of her drink and grimaced. "The hell is that!?"

"Some stuff made with Banora Whites," he said with a shrug. "Pretty rare these days."

"Tastes like something pretentious pricks pretend to like because 'only their taste buds are refined enough'," she said.

"Doesn't taste too bad."

"Well then you have it—" she pushed glass towards him, rose from her seat and went behind the bar, taking a bottle with something more to her liking. "—while I have a real drink."

They laughed and shared a couple of drinks. Wedge soon joined them with a plate of delicious food he had prepared for them. It wasn't Tifa's cooking, but it was filling enough.

Biggs was in the middle of telling a very crude joke when the door burst open and Barret stepped in. A man was slung over his shoulder and Tifa slowly trailed behind him, her eyes fixed to the ground.

"You're back!" Biggs shot up from his seat and walked over to them, stopping when he too saw the person on Barret's shoulder. "Who's that?"

Barret let out a snort. "We caught this sack of shit snoopin' around the area."

It was only then that Jessie noticed that someone was missing. "Hey, where's Cloud?"

She immediately saw Tifa's face darken at her question. "Excuse me," she murmured and all but ran past them to get upstairs.

_What was that about?_ She wondered for a second before realization hit her. Her eyes going wide she turned and fixed her gaze on Barret. Her heart was beating up to her neck and she was afraid of the answer she would be getting, yet she still asked. "Did...something happen to him?"

Barret's face turned grim and he averted his eyes. "Just when we were about to escape, the fuckin' president himself showed up to spring an ambush on us. Some weird mech. We managed to beat it, but the resulting explosion caused Cloud to fall off the plate."

_Oh no..._

Jessie slowly ran one of her hands through her hair and stared down to the floor. This was her fault. The alarm on the train, they must have predicted where they would strike next. If she hadn't screwed up with the ID then this wouldn't have happened. Then Cloud would still be—

_Tifa!_

She must be feeling devastated now. Guilt gnawed at her insides. She was responsible for this.

"So... what about him?" she heard Biggs ask after a while.

"We're gonna ask him some questions downstairs," he said and walked over to the hidden elevator. "Keep watch outside, Wedge."

"Yeah..." Wedge shot her a sad look, and slowly rose to his feet, walking out of the front door while Biggs and Barret went downstairs.

Jessie clenched her teeth and dug her fingernails into her scalp, not caring how much it hurt. She deserved the pain!

Her heart hurt at the thought of Cloud's broken body lying somewhere in the slums. The part of her that held a budding affection for him was screaming inside her mind, but it didn't compare to the tearing pain at the thought that Tifa must hate her now.

She...she needed to talk to her. Needed to apologize.

Slowly, she got to her feet and dragged herself to the door leading upstairs. She found her friend in Marlene's room, playing with the little girl as she hugged her close. She watched them for a moment, just taking the sight in, if only to steel herself.

Eventually, she cleared her throat. "Can...can we talk?" she asked when both looked up at her.

"...Yes. Thanks for playing with me, Marlene. It really helped me," Tifa said to the girl and gave her one last squeeze before she let go of her. "I'll tell your dad that you want to play with him when he's done with work."

Tifa walked over to her, looking her in the eyes as she closed the door, and if she was currently resenting her, then Jessie couldn't see it in her eyes.

"Listen, I'm—" but she couldn't even finish the sentence as Tifa had already pulled her into a hug, resting her head gently on her shoulder. Jessie tried to resist at first, but soon found herself all too eagerly giving in, and her arms circled around her friend. Her eyes closed at the feeling of Tifa against her, and in any other situation she would have been delighted to hold her this close. She released a shuddering breath, words reduced to but a whisper. "I'm sorry about what happened. It was my fault, if I hadn't screwed up then Shinra wouldn't have known. Then Cloud would be here right now."

_With you, _she added inside her mind.

"And I—"

"Shhh," Tifa gently shushed her and simply held her for a few more moments before letting go. It embarrassed her how she wanted to go right back to hugging her; this wasn't the time!

"You're not to blame," Tifa told her.

"But—"

"You're not to blame," she said again, more firmly this time and Jessie found herself shutting up. "Nobody could have foreseen this. So don't blame yourself for something out of our control."

Jessie wanted to desperately shout back, that she should have been able to foresee this. But the look in Tifa's eyes, one she expected to be full of sadness or anger, was filled with determination; it was such a contrast to how she looked downstairs.

"Cloud is alive. I know it."

What!? No, that couldn't be possible. Not even a SOLDIER should be able to survive that...

But, then again, she didn't know half of what they could do. All the odds were stacked against his survival, yet Tifa believed he was still alive. And a tiny part of her wanted to believe that, too.

"How?" she finally asked.

"I just know it," Tifa said and placed one of her hands on her chest, right above her heart. "He wouldn't just die like that. Not when he has a promise to keep."

Jessie let the words sink in, and strangely enough, found herself believing her friend's words. "So, what now?"

"Now we wait for what Barret manages to squeeze out of the guy downstairs," Tifa said and walked towards the steps. Jessie followed close behind, her eyes fixed on the long dark hair trailing down her friend's back, and she realized that Tifa truly believed in Cloud.

_You love him, don't you? _she asked Tifa in her mind. She shook her head. Now was not the time. Like Tifa said, there was a spy to deal with.

It was completely silent when they returned to the bar. Not a single peep from downstairs could he heard, but Jessie knew that was because the entire bunker was sound proof, and she was sure the two men were currently very busy using every trick in the book to make their spy talk.

After a while, the silence became too much and Jessie started up the jukebox while Tifa was busying herself by taking stock of how much booze and ingredients were still there. Ten minutes later, Jessie joined her in that endeavour.

It took an hour until Barret and Biggs returned upstairs.

"Tough sonuvabitch," Barret grumbled.

"Yeah, well, not so tough now," Biggs replied and used a towel to wipe his hands clean of blood.

Jessie saw Tifa's expression darken at the sight, but quickly return to normal as she asked, "what did you find out?"

"Asshole works for Corneo," Barret explained as he sat down in front of the bar. "Aside from that he didn't know shit. Just that he was to be on the lookout for a guy with a gun arm."

Jessie swallowed hard at the revelation. Had they been followed?

Tifa frowned. "That's pretty specific."

Barret just grumbled and hit the counter with his fist. "Don't you think I know that!?"

"So what do we do next?"

"We leave the pervert alone, lay low for a bit and keep an eye out for any suspicious stuff," Barret said and turned to Biggs. "This is all because you dumped that Shinra guy on his turf!"

Biggs raised his hands and sighed. "Sorry. Didn't think they'd make a damn fuss about it. Lotsa dead guys in alleys."

"So we're not going to deal with Corneo?" Tifa asked and Barret turned his head, giving her a bristling look, but she didn't even do as much as flinch.

"Do I have to repeat myself!?"

"No," Tifa replied and crossed her arms in front of her chest with an unreadable expression on her face. It was only once Barret had turned around to go back to swearing and arguing with Biggs that Jessie could see Tifa's expression change into a frown.

* * *

Jessie woke up with a groan when a knock sounded on her door and she looked over to the clock resting on her table. It was late afternoon. After the whole ordeal earlier all she could do was drag herself back to her room and lie down. With a yawn she got out of bed and slowly opened her door to see Tifa standing on the other side, looking a little nervous.

"Tifa?" she asked, confusion evident in her voice.

"I need your help," Tifa said suddenly, and it was enough to make Jessie wake up fully.

"What do you need?" she asked once she had ushered her friend inside.

"This entire thing, us getting ambushed today, then Corneo's spy. It bothers me."

Yeah, Jessie had also thought it was weird that it happened so close together. Could be a coincidence, but she wasn't so sure. "Think it's connected?"

"I'm not sure," Tifa admitted and brushed some of her hair behind her ear. "I...I have to find out."

"How?"

"From Corneo himself."

Jessie's eyes widened in shock. "Wow, are you telling me you want to go there alone!?"

"It's the only way, I just don't know how," Tifa admitted. A part of her screamed that this was a bad idea, that she should convince her otherwise, that it was too dangerous. But she could tell that the other woman had already made up her mind.

"You know, Barret won't like this," Jessie tried one last time, even if it was futile.

"Barret isn't here right now." So he was still out with Biggs and Wedge, keeping an eye out for any more spies that might be lurking around the sector. Who knew that Tifa could be so sneaky?

With a sigh of resignation Jessie said: "Corneo is looking for a bride. Biggs told me earlier when we were passing through the Wall Market. That's probably the fastest way to get to him."

Tifa sharply inhaled through her nose, then let out a short huff as she gave a nod of her head. "Alright, then we'll go with that."

Jessie hated the idea, and the image of that disgusting piece of shit Corneo with Tifa made her nauseous, but she... just couldn't refuse her.

"I'll see if I can arrange something. I'm sure someone at the Honeybee can get in touch with him. Why don't you go and take a shower in the meantime? We gotta be fast if we wanna do this."

Tifa nodded and left her room. With another sigh, Jessie sat down in front of her personal computer and fired it up. She immediately started up her browser.

The Net was one of Shinra's better creations, Jessie had to admit. Initially it was only made for inter-corporate communication, but eventually they figured out that they could make money off it, and started to provide a public net for everyone. Everyone willing to pay, that is.

But the people of the slums were nothing if not adaptable and soon tapped into the infrastructure to provide and create a shadow network. She was sure Shinra was aware of it, but just didn't give a damn what a few slum rats did. If some of them weren't using it themselves, because you could find stuff there, that you couldn't on the regular Net.

Such as the phone number of the biggest brothel in the slums.

Jessie picked up her phone and dialed the number. It took a moment before the phone was picked up.

"Honeybee Inn, what can we do ya for?" she heard a man on the other side.

"I heard the Don's looking to marry?" she asked and rolled her eyes, glad that the guy couldn't see her. He already sounded annoying as hell.

"Sure he does. I'm guessing you wanna audition? You _sound_ pretty hot."

Jessie gritted her teeth. "No... my friend does."

"Is _she_ hot?"

_Oh, for fuck's sake!_ "Yes, very hot!" she said, not being able to keep the heat entirely out of her voice.

"Good, always lookin' for those." She heard some papers being shuffled around in the background. "I can send someone to pick her up. Where to?"

"Sector 7. Maybe in an hour? She needs to get ready."

The guy on the other end chuckled. "I'm sure she does. Hope she's patient though, the Don won't be seeing her until later. He's always so busy with work, ya know?"

Jessie clenched the phone in her hand at the dirty laugh he was giving her. They exchanged a few more words before hanging up. She threw her phone away in disgust and grabbed her makeup bag and hair iron, before heading upstairs where Tifa was waiting for her. On her bed she saw the same blue dress that she had worn during their little abduction operation.

Pulling out all the stops, it seemed.

"Pick up is gonna be here in an hour. Let's do this," she told Tifa and got to work.

What they were doing here was overkill. Tifa was a natural beauty that didn't need any makeup. Her eyes flickered over to Tifa's, so strikingly beautiful that she just wanted to lose herself in them, and Jessie nearly dropped the mascara.

_Focus!_ she chastised herself.

She had to be fast about it this time, but once she was done, and Tifa had put on her dress, she had become no less than a total knockout that men and women would kill for just to get a _chance_ to spend the night with her.

Jessie wanted nothing more than to kiss those lips right now. Instead she swallowed hard. "You ready?"

"Almost," Tifa said and pulled a huge handbag out of her closet. Jessie recognized it as the one that Johnny once gave her as a gift. She then took her boots, gloves, arm guard and other clothes and somehow managed to fit them all inside without looking suspicious. "I'm not going in there without some insurance."

She knew that Tifa was more than able to defend herself, so hearing that she was going in prepared was an immense relief to her.

"OK," Tifa said and they both left 7th Heaven as quickly as possible. Once on the streets, they somehow managed to avoid any confrontation. If Johnny hadn't left earlier this morning, Jessie was sure he would have made a fuss about seeing his crush dressed like this.

They made it to the sector gates in no time and waited for Tifa's ride to arrive. Jessie wanted to break the silence between them, but couldn't find the right words. All she could do was standing there, waiting.

"Thank you," Tifa said after a while, and they looked at each other. The corners of her friend's lips were turned into a small smile, and Jessie couldn't help but mirror the expression.

"You know I just can't say no to you," Jessie replied and playfully punched her in the arm. They both broke out into laughter after that.

It was the sound of the opening gate that made them fall silent once more, and both their eyebrows shot up in surprise at the sight of the very gaudy looking carriage making it's way towards them, drawn by a Chocobo no less.

"I'm here to pick up the Don's prospective bride," the driver said, as the carriage stopped near them, sounding absolutely bored.

"That's me," Tifa said.

"Get in." He gestured behind him.

Tifa turned towards her once more. "See you later."

"Be careful," Jessie whispered back.

"I will."

She watched Tifa get into the carriage. As soon as the door closed the driver signaled his Chocobo to get moving. Once the carriage had turned around, Tifa moved to the little platform at the backside and gave her one final nod as they left Sector 7.

Jessie remained standing there for a bit longer, before finally dragging herself back into 7th Heaven.

* * *

**Heading towards the end here. Next week it's going to be the last chapter (+ epilogue). I'm guessing you know what that means...**

**Read & review.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Barret had been beyond pissed off when he learned what Tifa had done, and it took Biggs and Wedge's combined strength to keep him from running over to Wall Market and just shoot the entire place up. After he had managed to calm down, he turned towards her and send her the most heated glare that she had ever seen on his face.

She supposed she deserved it, for going behind his back. He was their leader. But she also knew that most of his anger sprung from worry for Tifa. He was a gruff guy, but he cared about all of them. Still, she practically locked herself into the basement after that, trying to avoid him and keep herself busy with something as they waited for Tifa's return.

It was two hours later when she finally emerged from the basement to find the bar empty. The door was open and she spotted Biggs sitting on the steps outside. She walked through the door and sat down beside him.

He held out a bottle of whiskey that he must have taken from the bar. Wordlessly, Jessie grabbed it and took a large swig from it, then handed it back.

"Finally decided to come out of your hidey hole?" he asked her after taking a sip himself.

"Mhm. Where's Barret?" she asked in return.

"Gone back on lookout with Wedge. Decided to stay here in case you came out," he told her and once more handed her the bottle. "What you did was pretty ballsy."

"I guess." Another swig.

"Listen, I think you did the right thing. Something about it is suspicious and getting it from Corneo is probably the fastest way."

"Nice to have your approval," she said with just the tiniest hint of sarcasm that made Biggs smirk.

"You know, sounds like there's something you need to get off your chest."

Jessie sighed and took another, much larger swig from the bottle.

"I was against the idea. Sounded too dangerous after all the shit earlier today. But...you should have seen the look in her eyes. She was so sure that it was the only way. And I just couldn't refuse her...As much as I wanted to."

"Hmm." He hummed and gently pried the bottle from her hand. "The things we do for love, eh?"

Jessie's eyes shot open and she turned her head to look at him directly. "What do you mean?"

"What? You think I'm stupid?" he snorted. "You're in love with Tifa. Have been ever since that date you two went on."

"You knew!?"

"Tifa just so happens to have a date one night and you've been a no show the entire day? Hell yeah I knew. But it wasn't any of my business, so I kept my mouth shut."

Jessie exhaled the breath that she didn't know she was holding. She rubbed a hand over her face. Of course he would know. They knew each other for so long now. "It didn't go anywhere though."

"Doesn't matter, you're still in love," he replied.

"And how are you so sure?"

"You've got that twinkle in your eye when you look at someone you have feelings for. Like your obvious crush on Cloud." She saw a grin split his face as her face heated up. Was she really that open a book? "I was on the other end of that look once, remember?"

Of course she remembered. Back when they were still teens with big dreams and bigger problems. He was just as much of an asshole back then as he was today, but he was her asshole.

"So do my eyes twinkle when I look at Tifa?" she asked, looking at the ground in front of the steps.

"Girl, your eyes practically shine," he said before he lifted the bottle to his lips.

Jessie released a sigh and leaned backwards until her back rested on the solid wood of the porch. She always knew that her feelings for Tifa were deeper than just attraction, otherwise they wouldn't have lasted this long. But that she was full blown in love she had never considered. Closing her eyes, she summoned up thoughts of her friend, her beautiful smile, her kind eyes, and she could feel the warmth spreading from her chest and into her entire body.

She loved Tifa. Maybe she should have admitted it a long time ago. But it didn't change reality.

"She loves Cloud," she said after a long moment, finally opening her eyes again.

"Mhm, looks like it." He nodded. "That must suck, crushing on one and loving another. Still...you should tell her."

"And what good will that do?" she asked and pushed herself up onto her elbows.

"Probably nothing. But don't you think that admitting it is only fair to her, and you?" He looked at her. "Besides, you'll get it off your chest, maybe you can move on then?"

_Maybe..._

Biggs was right. She had been dragging this around for so long. Tifa was her best friend, one that she was in love with; pretending that she wasn't was nothing more than a lie, and she never ever wanted to lie to Tifa.

"I'll do it. When the moment is right," she said and the resolution in her voice and mind made her feel lighter than she had in a long time. She really had been dragging this around for a long time.

"Good," he said, then emptied the rest of the bottle and threw it out on the street where it shattered into hundreds of pieces.

Jessie stood back up and grinned a little, poking her elbow into his side. "When the hell did you become so wise?"

"I've always been wise."

Jessie scoffed. "More like full of shit," she said and they both burst into laughter. After calming down they fell into a comfortable silence that was only disturbed when they saw Wedge running towards them.

"If it isn't Wedge!" Biggs called out with a grin, but he soon dropped it when he saw the expression on their friend's face.

Panic.

They both shot to their feet, and the alcohol coursing through Jessie's system was all but forgotten as Wedge nearly stumbled onto the ground in front of them. "What happened!?"

"S-S-SHINRA!" he shouted, not caring if he was getting any looks from other people. "At the plate control. They...they want to do something to the plate!"

Oh shit! Jessie and Biggs shared a look, before running back into the bar to get their guns. Jessie was still putting on her armour as they ran towards the Sector 7 gates. The familiar sound of Barret's gun arm echoed down from the top of the plate control and they passed a few dead bodies as they ran up the huge stairways.

When they arrived at the top, Barret had just finished off the last of the troopers. He turned towards them.

"Take their guns and spread out, there's bound to be more incoming," he told them, and Jessie ran over to the closest trooper and took his rifle and the grenade still on his body.

"I'll go down and lock the door again, should keep 'em busy enough if I shoot at them too," Biggs said and headed down the stairs.

"Wedge, you're with me," Barret said, then looked at her.

"I'll go with Biggs," she said and followed after him. She caught up to him and he shot her a grin.

"Cat's outta the bag now," he said.

"Looks like it—" she abruptly stopped when she saw something fly towards the top from a distance. "What in the hell is that?"

Biggs stopped as well, and turned to look. "Are those troopers!?"

"Yeah." But none that she had ever seen before. They seemed to wear special armour with propellers attached to their arms that allowed them to fly. Jessie felt that things were about to get harder than anticipated. "Go ahead, I'll take care of them."

"OK. Good luck," he said and started to pick up the pace.

Jessie closed her eyes, taking a deep breath to calm herself. She had come a long way from that night she had first killed someone. She still didn't like it, and that was a good thing she supposed, but she knew that there would be no hesitation on their part.

Opening her eyes again, she took careful aim. She fired a burst of three bullets at one of them. They hit the trooper squarely in the chest, and Jessie took note of the fact that they weren't any more protected than your standard trooper. The soldier started to spin from the impact, losing control over his armour, and smashed into one of his comrades, causing them both to plummet to the ground below.

With the element of surprise still on her side, she took out the rest of the squad. She breathed a sigh of relief, but it was short lived as she saw more of them approaching, with some of them now closing in on her position.

"Great," she muttered and lifted the rifle again. They turned out to be surprisingly nimble in direct confrontation, flying around like annoying flies on a hot summer day as they closed in on her and dodging all of her shots.

Her hand went to her belt and she grabbed the grenade hanging there. Looping her thumb through the ring of the pin, she pulled it out and removed the safety lever in one smooth movement. She counted in her mind before throwing the grenade high into the air and diving around the corner.

She covered her ears just before it detonated. After a moment she looked around the corner and saw that all of the troopers had been taken out.

"Yes!" But victory was short lived as a few bullets flew past her. Whirling around she spotted two troopers running towards her. Oh no, Biggs!

But she couldn't think about what might have happened to him. She rounded the corner, gripping the rifle tightly as shots whipped past her. Taking a few deep breaths, she switched the gun to full auto mode, rounded the corner and unloaded the entire magazine on them. One of them was taken out instantly, the other fell back against the handrail, gasping in pain but not dead yet.

"Die, scum!" he gurgled out and fired his gun. Jessie tried to dodge to the side, but it was too late. Two bullets pierced her shoulder and abdomen, burying themselves deep into her flesh. She gasped in pain and fell backwards from the impact. One of her hands went to the wound in her stomach, while she pulled her pistol out of her holster with the other. She ignored the pain as best as she could and aimed at the trooper, who was now falling over, finally succumbing to his wounds.

"Shit," she gasped out and pushed herself to her feet, dragging herself up until she collapsed on the stairs. She saw a few more of those flying troopers head towards the top and fired shots at them, until she had no more bullets left.

She heard a scream from above, followed by Wedge's body as he fell from the platform to the ground below.

This was it, wasn't it? They were finished.

Dead.

They had it coming. All those people they killed, it somehow felt fitting they would die like dogs. Ever since she pulled the trigger that night she had been heading towards this end. She could hear steps from below, as the clacking of boots on metal echoed towards her. More of them. Jessie lifted her gun and aimed it forward; might as well die looking like she would put up a fight.

If only she could have seen Tifa one last time.

And as if some higher power had heard her plea, it was Tifa who rounded the corner, closely followed by none other than Cloud Strife. So she had been right; he was alive.

She let her arm drop to her side and slumped back.

"Jessie!" Tifa gasped out at the sight of her and was instantly at her side, gently pulling her up into a sitting position.

"Tifa... Cloud..." She was having trouble getting the words out; she didn't know how long until she would pass out. "I'm glad...I could talk to the both of you...one last time."

"Don't say 'last'," Cloud said as he checked her wounds, and she was happy to hear the concern in his voice. So he did care after all.

"Save your strength," Tifa told her as she opened her mouth again, but Jessie just shook her head.

"That's... alright." Jessie coughed and Tifa held onto her shoulders for support. After calming down she closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths before continuing. "Many people died... because of what we did...This is...our punishment."

"Jessie, don't—" Tifa wanted to say, but Jessie stopped her.

"Barret...go help him," she said and weakly pushed Cloud away. The Ex-SOLDIER looked at her in surprise, before his eyes grew large and wild, taking on a faraway look. His hand went to his forehead, and he gritted his teeth. It didn't even last a second and his face returned back to the serious expression she was used to, as he rose back to his feet.

"Tifa, let's go!" he said grimly, hand going to the hilt of his sword.

"But—"

"Just go!" Jessie shouted at her friend, pushing her away with what strength she had and regretted it immediately, as the world around her started spinning.

She saw tears welling up inside her friend's eyes, and it tore her heart apart to see her like this. She wanted nothing more than to reach out and brush the hurt away.

Tifa stared at her for what felt like an eternity, gritting her teeth, before finally complying and following Cloud as he ran up the stairs. With a shuddering breath Jessie let herself fall back onto the stairs.

Another cough ripped through her and she closed her eyes. "Make it...out alive...please..."

And the world went black...

...

...

...

With a gasp she awoke to the sound of a helicopter flying above, and voices that were shouting. Her friends, and two other voices she didn't know.

Her breath was raspy and she darted out her tongue to lick her dry lips, but it was just as dry. And the pain was gone. No. The pain wasn't just gone, she was going numb.

But the others were alive. That was good. With all the strength she could muster she rolled to her side and reached for her pocket. Slowly and carefully she pulled out her phone with trembling hands, then let herself fall back onto her back, panting from the effort.

Swallowing hard and trying to ignore the coppery taste of it, she held the phone in front of her face and summoned up her contacts, selecting Tifa's number. She tapped on Message and blood covered fingers started typing what she knew would be her last words to Tifa.

For a second she debated with herself if she should tell Tifa how she felt, but in the end decided against it. She didn't need to be weighed down like this.

After typing the words, she tapped on Attach and scrolled through her gallery, selecting photos that she had taken over the time they had known each other. Group photos, like Tifa's birthday, or just the two of them together like on their date. Anything that would remind Tifa of all the good times from before. So that some part of her would be with her, wherever she was going.

Her thumb rested on Send when an explosion shook the tower and the phone fell from her hands, clattering down onto the platform below her.

_Nononononono._ Jessie's breathing was going wild and she tried to push herself up with all her might. She managed to lift herself a little, only for her arms to give out on her and she tumbled down the stairs, landing face first on the solid steel. She let out a strangled cry, and willed herself to move. Pushing herself up, she managed to crawl over to the phone inch by inch. Something was happening above, and she was running out of time. She had to hold on.

Just a little longer.

Her vision was starting to blur, and she felt herself growing weaker by the second, but she made it to the phone. Letting herself drop besides it, she reached out and grabbed the device, pulling it close to her and holding onto it like it was the last lifeline in the ocean that was about to pull her into its depths.

She pressed Send and stared at the display. Come on, come on, come on!

_Message Sent_

Jessie released a raspy laugh, a huge grin splitting her face as she let herself slump back.

She did it.

With what little strength she still had left she opened up her photo folder and picked the only photo she hadn't sent Tifa. She had taken it one day, during a quiet evening when barely anyone was in the bar. Tifa was leaning over the bar counter as she threw a bright smile into her direction, a playful twinkle in her eyes.

Yes, this was a good sight to die to.

She held the phone close to her face and drank in the sight in front of her, focusing on those carmine eyes staring back at her with nothing but affection. Something screamed in the distance above, but Jessie didn't look away from the woman that meant everything to her.

_I love you,_ she confessed in her mind as the world around her exploded, and she drifted off. But instead of the darkness that she was expecting, she found herself slipping into a warm and welcoming embrace; an emerald dream, where she could finally rest.

It felt...good.

* * *

**...One more to go.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Epilogue**

Kalm reminded her a lot of Nibelheim, in that it was small and there were still a few shades left of the old ways. But right now that didn't really ease any of her worries. She looked off into the distance, where Cloud was currently entering one of the local weapon stores and she found her hand wandering to the locket resting under her top.

Before, she had thought it might just have been coincidence. That her memory might have been false due to the trauma, but now she was sure that something was seriously wrong with Cloud.

Tifa pulled the locket out and opened it. Inside she saw the familiar photo of Sephiroth, Zack and herself. The photo Cloud claimed to be part of. And not just that, everything else, aside from the part where he had gone into her house, that he said he had done was also Zack.

_What am I supposed to do?_ Tifa wondered and let herself slump back against the wall of a house. She was exhausted. The Corneo situation, the destruction of Sector 7, Aerith's rescue, Sephiroth's return and their escape from the Shinra building hadn't left them with any chance to rest, so the group had decided to stay for a bit longer after Cloud had told his story.

There had to be some kind of explanation, but she didn't know what it was. All she could do right now was to watch and observe. She heard heavy steps approach her, and immediately closed the locket before slipping it back into its hiding place.

It was Barret.

"Hey," she called out tiredly. "Need me for something?"

"Just wanted to give you this," he said and held out something in his huge hand. A charger for her phone. "Since I got Spike a phone I bought some of these as well."

"Thanks," Tifa said and gave him a small smile, taking the charger. Her phone had been dead since before they returned to Sector 7, and she obviously hadn't been able to charge it again yet. Barret brows creased with worry.

"You look tired," he pointed out, and she could make out the faint sound of worry in his voice.

"I am," she admitted.

"You should go lie down then. We won't be leaving until morning."

She let her eyes wander, trying to find Cloud, but he seemed to still be inside the weapon store. Her eyes landed on Aerith instead, wandering around the town square with a curiosity in her eyes that only someone, that only knew Midgar, could have. The girl was a bit of a mystery to her, but she seemed to be a likable person, even if Tifa had to admit that she didn't like how forward she was being with Cloud.

With a sigh, she turned to look back towards Barret, who stood there with crossed arms, and finally nodded. "Yeah, I think I'll do that."

She walked past the giant man and returned to the inn that their group had rented, where she headed up the stairs. Upstairs she found that strange cat like creature dubbed Red XIII lying on one of the carpets, his tail swishing lazily across the floor. At least he had the right idea.

"I hope I'm not bothering you?" she asked.

"Don't worry, after my time in the lab any normal company is welcome," he replied, lips curling into a smile and his one good eye twinkling with dry amusement. It was surprising how expressive he was, despite his animal like features. But that just showed her, that she had still a lot to learn about the world.

She let herself fall onto one of the beds, burying her face into the pillows. Her mind wandered back to Midgar, and she wondered how Dr. Hiragi was doing right now. Did he think she might have died in the plate collapse? Part of her wanted to go and say goodbye to him before they left the city, but she was afraid of what he might have thought if he learned that she was part of Avalanche.

She could only pray that he was doing alright.

Turning around she sat up again and pulled her phone out of her pocket while looking for a socket. Luckily for her, there was one right next to the bed, so she plugged the charger into it and connected it to her phone.

"Hmm?" Red XIII looked over to what she was doing. "Ah, it's one of those mobile phones you humans use."

"Yeah, we're quite dependent on them, I'm afraid," she said good-naturedly, and he chuckled.

"I know someone back home that would love to take a look at it," he said. "He loves technology."

_Back home…_

Maybe she should inquire about that some other day. She was a bit curious about her new friend's past to be honest. But not today. She had enough to think about today.

She waited for her phone to charge up a little before she turned it back on. Once it had fully rebooted it let out a rhythmic beep. The signal that she had gotten a message.

Puzzled, she opened up her messages and nearly dropped the phone when she saw from whom it was.

Jessie.

Her hand trembled a little, and she noticed Red XIII perk up from out of the corner of her eye. Hesitantly she opened the message.

_I guess this is it for me, huh?_

_Thank you for making my life in the slums enjoyable._

_And please don't forget us, Tifa._

She reread the message a couple of times, blinking rapidly as her eyes started to burn. Attached to it were several image files. Her eyes flickered over to Red XIII when she noticed that he had risen to his paws. The cat-like creature gave her a sympathetic look before he turned around and headed downstairs to give her some space.

Tifa opened one of the files. It was a photo of Jessie and her, the one they had taken the night of her birthday. Her left hand went up to cover her mouth as the dam finally broke and tears started to run down her face. She looked through all the other photos, all the 'memories' as Jessie had dubbed them, and she wanted nothing more than to scream as the sadness she had been suppressing crashed down upon her like a tidal wave. Her friends were dead, killed by Shinra. No more Wedge trying out a new dish, or Biggs taste testing her drinks…

Or talking with Jessie well into the night about everything that was on their minds, be it happy or sad.

Tifa cradled the phone like it was a precious little baby, and sobbed into her hand.

Why were all the people she cared about taken away from her!? Was she just cursed!? Was that it!?

"I'm sorry," she sobbed out, wishing that her fallen friends could hear her. "I'm so sorry!"

Tifa was so absorbed in her sorrow that she didn't notice as someone sat down beside her on the bed. It was only when she felt an arm around her shoulders that she took notice of the person sitting there, and she flinched away from the touch like a hurt animal.

It was Aerith, looking at her with sad, green eyes. She didn't say a word, only sitting there, offering comfort where it was clearly needed. Everyone always said to Tifa that she was a strong person, but for once, just this once, she wanted to be weak and that was why she didn't resist any further, as Aerith gathered her into a hug.

Tomorrow, she knew, she had to be the Tifa that everyone in their group could rely on; to cheer them up and support them.

But today, she would let herself grieve the friends she had lost.

* * *

**And this is it. My little tribute to Jessie and the rest of Avalanche. In the end it ended more on a Jessie/Tifa note for Jessie than on her crush on Cloud, but the whole thing kind of took on a life of its own and well here we are. I think it fits that beautifully tragic theme of loss and life that is so integral to Final Fantasy VII.**

**And don't worry, unlike the original game, I'm not gonna forget them.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this little sequel, even if it wasn't from Tifa's point of view. Next week we're continuing this in the next chapter of this journey: _Golden Respite_.**

**Read & review. :)**


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